Dough twisting mechanism



April 21, 1936.

C. J. KUMMER DOUGH TWIS'IING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 12, 1934 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Mg; .MM/ wma., www

ATTORNEYS INVENTOR Mmmm ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT ol-liclag g2,037,985 Doven 'rwls'nNG Mncnmsn Charles J. Kummer, Sheboygamwis.,assigner to Sheboygan Machine Company, Sheboygan, Wis., a corporation olWiscondn Application November l, 1934, Serial No. 752,674 v `I 15Claims.

This invention relates to limprovements in the art of preparing twistedbread for baking.

vIt is the object of the invention to provide novel an'd'improved meansfor twisting or braiding together two elongated pieces of dough.

jMore particularly stated, it 1s myrobject to provide a novel and simplemeans for twisting pices of`dough together ina denite and posi- 5 tivemanner to produce loaves of predetermined i'orm. 4It is one of thepurposes of the invention todeiiver the piece of dough to a hopper fromwhich successive pieces are alternately delivered todifferent pairs ofaligned troughs or buckets wlierein the dough is supported during thetwisting operation. Another purpose is to provide means forautomatically setting the buckets in operation as soon as the secondpiece 'of dough has been deposited in its proper place and to withdrawthe buckets gradually from beneath the dough as the twisting operationprogresses, other supporting means being progressively substituted forthe buckets until the twisting operation is complete, the twisted loafbeing then deposited on a conveyor for delivery from the machine.

In the drawings: Figure. 1 is a view in perspective, of apparatusembodying the invention. Figure 2 is a front elevation of thedeviceshown in Figure l with portions of the apparatus broken away inlongitudinal section to expose the details of construction.

Figure 3 is a view of the apparatus partially in end elevation andpartially in section.

Figure 4 is a detail view taken in section on the line indicated at -linFigure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail showing the twisting head inverticaliaxial section. Figure 6 is a view of the twisting head taken online 6 6 of Figure 5.

the twisting operation as they appear in perspective.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the completed loaf as delivered fromthe machine.

Like parts are identified by the same 'reference gins are important tothe successful delivery of Figure 7'shows the pieces of dough prior tothe dough piece in a straight line on the conveyor table Il by beltl I5.

As each piece is dropped upon theftable I2 its central portion. beingsupported, is engaged by A the conveyor I5, which Vrolls the piece upthe y table I4 to a hopper I1. Hopper I1 contains a gate I8 pivoted atI9 and so unbalanced'asto tend by gravity to assume one or the other ofits extreme positions diagonally of the hopper as shown lin vFig'. 3. Aseach piece of dough falls 1 0 i through the hopper it necessarily throwsthe gate lto` the other position.

Slidable in the ways 2li are the twister heads v2l, each oi.' whichsupports for revolution about a common axis, and for rotation upon theirown 15 axes, a pair of semi-tubular open ended buckets 25. When theterminal heads are in their closest relation to each other as shown inFigs. 2 and 8, their respective buckets are aidally aligned with eachother'to form a pair of approximately con-'- 20 -tinuous troughs betweenthe twister heads 2i into which the pieces of dough may be depositedalternately fxjgm the hopper II under the control of gate I8.

The piece of dough shown in Fig. 3 at the point. 25 of dropping intohopper Il, wil1* necessarily be ,v diverted by gate I8 into the rearmostbuckets 25. As this piece passes the gate I8. however, it will throw thegate to the opposite diagonal o! the hopper, whereby the next piece ofdough enter- 30 ing the hopper willv be deposited in the forward pairoi' buckets 25. As this subsequent piece passes through the hopper itwill force forwardly a control member 26 which normally hangs in itspath, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Themovement 35 of this control memberwill operate through mechanism hereinafter to be described, to set themechanism in motion for the twisting of the pieces of dough lying intheir respective pairs of troughs.

The twister heads 2l will begin to slide away from each other, as shownin Fig. 1. As they move away from each other they cause motion to betransmitted to the buckets, whereby the buckets of each twister headrotate about an axis which isintermediate them, but planetary gearinghereinafter to be described keeps the buckets upright so that the piecesof dough cannot fall therefrom. The revolution of the twister headbuckets in opposite directions causes the pieces 50 of dough to becometwisted about each other starting at the center and progressivelyworking outwardly. The arrangement is such that as the twistingprogresses, the troughs are gradually Y withdrawn .from those portionsof the pieces 55 gre'sses.

Y along which the -respective twister heads reciprowhich remainuntwisted, until finally the entire lengths of both piecesare'intertwined.

Since the troughs are inherently incapable of supporting the twistedportions of the pieces, other means is provided for supporting thecompleted portions of the loaf as the twisting pro- Such means may takethe form of cam operated ngers 28, 29 and 36, which are automaticallyraised as the troughs are retracted from each other. When the loaf iscomplete these iingers are all dropped simultaneously through slotsbetween the several belts of a conveyor 32 whereon'the loaf isdischarged from the machine in readiness for baking. y

The mechanism which controls the positions of the buckets during theretraction of the twister head will now be described.

The heads 2| are identical. Each is provided with a ring gear 33 asshown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, and bearings are provided for a turretmember 34 which supports for revolution the spindles 35 upon which theindividual buckets 25 are mounted. Connectedwith each turret -34 bymeans of pins 36, is a driving member 31 to which is fastened a screw 36meshing with a fixed nut 39 carried by standard 40 near the end of theway cate. As th twister head moves outwardly, the movement of the screw36 through the nut 39 causes the screw to rotate, thereby limpartingrotation to the driving member 31 and causing rotation of the turret 34whereby the troughs 25 are made to revolve about each other and aboutthe turret axis which lies between them.

Carried by the pins 36 are pairs of gears 42 and 43, preferably madeintegrally with each other. The gear 42 of each pair meshes with thefixed ring gear 33, so that as the turret revolves the gears 42 and 43are constrained to rotate upon pins 36. The turret also carries anotherpin.44 having a pair ofv gears 45 and 46 integrally connected with eachother and free to rotate upon pin 44. Gear 45 meshes with the planetarygears 43 of the above described sets to receive rotation therefrom, andthe gear 46 meshes with gears 46 on the spindles 35 which support thebuckets 25. The gearratios are such as to maintain the bucketshorizontal by rotating them slowly on the axes of'spindles 35 in thesame ratio in which the buckets revolve about the axis of the turret.Quite obviously there are many more or less conventional sets ofplanetary gearing which may be substituted to perform this function.

I shall now describe the operating mechanism by which the parts aredriven for the performance of the operations above described;

'I'he control lever l26, actuated by the second piece of dough whichpasses through the hopper I1, is mountdm a rock shaft 49 which alsocarries a switch 56. This may be of the conventional mercury typeadapted by its forward tilting from tlie position shown in Fig.,3 tocause an electrical circuit to solenoid 5| to energize the solenoid andthereby to attract the armature 52 and oscillate the rocker arm 53 in aclockwise direction4 as Aviewed in Fig. 2. This engages clutch element54 with clutch element 55 to transmit motion from .the shaft 56,(continuously driven from motor 51 through'reducing gear 56) to sleeve516, worm 566. and worm gear 59. As soon 'as the switch 50 is operatedby the control member 26 to close the solenoid circuit, vthe latch 66 isope :ated by gravity to engage itself beneath the switch and support theswitch in a circuit closing position.

The worm gear 56 continues, therefore. to rotate..

The worm gear carries diametrically opposite crank pins 62 from whichconnecting rods 63 extend to the arms 64 of the respective twister heads2|, wherebyfeach complete rotation of the worm gear 59 will cause a fullreciprocation of the twister heads from their normally adjacentpositions as shown in Fig. 2, to their extreme positions of separationwhich are approached in Fig. 1, and return.

The worm gear 59 not only carries the crank pin 62, but also carries astriker 65 which, in the course of worm gear rotation, engages a lever61 Y which has its upper end in close proximity to the latch or detent60. When this lever is struck by the striker 65, it disengages the latchfrom beneath the switch 50 and allows the switch to oscillate to itsopen position. Although the solenoid circuit is no longer closed, theclutch tends to remain in engagement until the full rotation of thestriker causes the striker to encounter the upper end of the clutchshifting rocker arm 53. This rocker arm is oscillated by the striker ina direction to disengage the clutch and restore the solenoid armature 52to its original' position. Thereupon the worm gear 59 comes to rest inthe position of the parts which is illustrated in Fig. 2.

When the above sequence of operations occurs, motion is also transmittedfrom sleeve 51 and pinion, 68 thereof to the gear 69 connected by chainTil with cam shaft 1| which carries sultable cams at 12 for acting onthe cam follower 'push rods 13 to control the several fingers 26,

29, and 36 to engage them to perform the sequence of operationsdescribed above. Another cam l15 at the left end of cam shaft 1| (asviewed in Fig. 2) acts on the cam follower lever 16 which' vis connectedby link 11 with the arm 16 of a rock shaft 19 in a flour sieve 66'.Connected with rock shaft 19 are one or more wipers 3| which, inoscillating across the foraminous bottom of the sieve 66, cause our tobe sifted therethrough on to the belt l5, the hopper I1, and thetiltable' baille or gate I6 therein. These parts will ordinarily be madeof highly polished material, and the buckets will likewise be veryhighly polished in order tb prevent` the .dough from adhering thereto.

The conveyor |5 may be continuously driven by chain 64 from the motordriven shaft 56. The timing is such that as the twisting heads move outand back to complete and discharge the twisted loaf, the conveyor willhave a fresh piece of dough ready for discharge through the hopper intothe rearmost buckets 25 as soon as the mechanism comes to rest. l

I claim:

1. In a dough twisting machine, the combination with a twisting head, ofa turret rotatably mounted therein upon apredetermined axis, a pair ofbuckets carried by said turret on opposite sides of said axis andmounted for individual rotation, means for rotating said turret torevolve said buckets about each other,and means for synchronouslyrotating said buckets individually, whereby to maintain them in apredetermined upright position during such revolution.

tion with a pair of twisting heads and means supporting said twistingheads for reciprocation in opposite directions, of rotatable turretsmounted in the respective heads means for rotating said ,n

ansioso turrets and revoluble about each other in the rotation of theturrets. means for rotating said buckets at a rate corresponding to therotation of the turrets, whereby to maintain the buckets level in thecourse of their revolution, the buckets associated with the respectiveheads being in substantial alignment in the nearest position ofsaid-heads and being revoluble in opposite directions upon theseparation of; said heads, where-,y by tointertwist pieces of doughpositioned onthe` initially aligned buckets.

3. In a dough twisting machine, the combinaets associated Awith therespective heads being in substantial alignment in the nearest positionof said heads andvbeing revoluble'in opposite directions upon theseparation of said heads, whereby to intertwist pieces of doughpositioned on the initiallyaligned buckets, a set-fof supportingiingeismovable to an advanced position to receive the weight of theintertwisted pieces of dough as said heads are separated and saidbuckets are withdrawn from beneath the dough, means for progressivelyelevating said fingers to a dough supporting position as the buckets arewithdrawn.

4. In a dough twisting machine, the combination with a pair of twisterheads and means supporting said twister heads for .reciprocation inopposite directions, of rotatable turrets mounted in the respectiveheads, means for rotating said turrets upon the reciprocation of saidheads, buckets individually rotatable on the respective turrets andrevoluble about veach other inthe rotation of the turrets, means forrotating said buckets at a rate corresponding to the rotation of theturrets, whereby to maintain the buckets level in the course o1' theirrevolution, the buckets associatedl with the respective heads being insubstantial alignment in the nearest position of said heads andbeingrevoluble in opposite directions upon the separationl of said heads,whereby to intertwist pieces of dough 'positioned on the initiallyaligned buckets, a. set of supporting hngers movable to an advancedposition to receive the weight of the intertwisted pieces of dough` assaid heads are separated and said buckets are withdrawn from beneath thedough, means for progressively lifting said lingers to a doughsupporting position as the buckets are withdrawn, and a set of conveyorbelts between which said A -ngers are receivable in their retractedposition,

whereby to deposit theintertwisted dough upon the belts. i

5. A- dough twisting machine comprising a frame providing guidewaymeans, a pair of twister heads reciprocable toand from each other upon'said guideway mea-ns, turrets rotatable in the respective heads, screwand nut means for rotating mined level during their revolution with theturret, hopper means for .depositing elongated pieces oi' doughsuccessively in the aligned troughs 'of the respective heads, suchtroughs being relatively aligned in the proximate position of saidheads, and supporting means for -receiving the dough from the troughs asthe troughs are progressively y withdrawn therefrom in the recedingmovement of the heads and the twisting movement of the turrets.H

6. A dough twisting machine comprising a pair I of dough receivingdevices, a conveyor for dough pieces, and an intervening hopper providedwith la gate for automatically delivering dough pieces from saidconveyor alternately to different devices.

7. A dough twisting machine comprising a pair oi dough receivingdevices, a conveyor for dough pieces, and' an intervening hopperprovided with agate for automatically' delivering dough pieces from saidconveyor alternately to diierent devices, means for actuating saiddevices to twist the dough pieces deposited thereon, and automaticcontrol mechanism associated with said hopper 'and provided withactuating connections for setting said means in motion upon the depositof the alternate dough pieces in a given one of said devices. v

8. Dough twisting mechanism comprising a conveyorH table having recessedside margins and an intervening platform, and a. conveyor belt coactingwith said table to rollelongated pieces of dough along said platformwith the ends of such pieces overhanging the recessed margins of saidtable.

9. A dough twisting machine comprising two pairs of initially alignedtroughs, means for dealigned troughs of the respective pairs, meanssupporting said troughs for revolution in opposite ldirections, meansfor revolving-the troughs of` each pair in opposite directions, andmeans whereby the deposit of the second piece of dough in the properaligned troughs sets in operation the means for revolving said troughs.

10. A dough twisting machine comprising the combination with a pair ofreciprocable twister heads, oi' means connected with said heads for thereciprocation thereof in opposite directions in a complete cycle ofmovement forth and back from va predetermined'starting point in whichsaid heads are near each other, mechanism limiting said head shapingmeans to a. single cycle of operation, a starting device-operativelyconnected to initiate the starting of the aforesaid cycle, turretsmounted in the respective heads and provided with means for rotatingthem in accordance `with the retraction of said heads from each other,buckets mounted in the respective turrets in pairsA initially alignedwith the buckets of the pair in the opposite turret and revoluble abouteach other i positing pieces of dough successively in alternate inopposite directions in the course of turret rota- ,pieces ot doughalternately upon the aligned buckets of the respective pairs, saidstarting means being in the path of dough deposited in one of saidbuckets whereby automatically to initiate said cycle.

11. A dough twisting machine comprising the V combination with a pair ofrelatively revoluble devices for supporting opposite ends oi' twoadiacent pieces of dough, of means for automatically deliveringsuccessive pieces of dough alternately to the respective devices, meansfor initiating a cycle of movement of said devices for the revolutionabout each other of the ends of the pieces of dough thus supported,whereby to twist the dough, andl means in the path of the piece of doughdeposited in one of said devices for initiating said cycle of movement.

12. In a dough twisting machine, the combination with means for twistingthe ends of adjacent pieces of dough and progressively withdrawingsupport therefrom as the dough is twisted, a set of fingers, and meansfor progressively lifting said relatively revoluble, mounting means inthe respective supports upon which the individual troughs are rotatableon their axes, and means fior rotating said troughs upon the axes ofsaid supporting means at a rate to maintain them sublution. v y

14. Dough twisting mechanism comprising the stantially horizontal in thecourse of their revocombination with a pair of turret heads reciprocableto and from each other, turrets rotatable in the respective heads,troughs carried in pairs by the turrets and provided with individuallyrotatal ble supports therein', and means operating in acin a directiontransverse to that of the movement of said conveyor, turrets rotatablein said heads, troughs carried by said turrets for revolution about eachother in the rotation thereof, each of said troughs having anindividually rotatable support and means for maintaining it horizontalin the course of turret rotation, mechanism for rotating said turrets inthe course of turret head lseparation from an initial position in whichthe opposing troughs of said heads are in substantial alignment, andmeans for depositing pieces of dough upon the aligned troughs to beintertwisted thereby, the intel-twisted pieces of dough being exposedfor deposit on the conveyor upon the withdrawal of said troughsoccasioned by the separation of said turret heads.

CHARLES J. KUMMER.

